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AND 



OCCASIONAL POEMS 



BY 



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PAUL ELMER MORE 



- ^^ COPYRIGHT ^% 

S FP151 890 

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G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS 

NEW YORK V LONDON 

27 WEST TWENTY-THIRD ST. 27 KING WILLIAM ST,, STRAND 

1890 



COPYRIGHT 1890 
BY 

PAUL ELMER MORE 



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Electrotyped, Printed, and Bound by 
G. P. Putnam's Sons 



CONTENTS. 



PART I.— HELENA. 

PAGE 

Helena , 3 



PART n.— OCCASIONAL POEMS. 

To THE Good Ship "La Champagne" ..,.,„ 31 

A Dream ,,,.,» 39 

Sleeplessness ,40 

Unrest ....... ,,.. 41 

Fragment of a Summer Idyl ,,<,.,,. 42 

The Haunted Tower ..,.,.,., 53 

An Oriole's Nest ......,,., 56 

O Limpid Pool . . = , . , , . , , 57 

Madrigal »,,..« 58 

Song , , , . . 59 

Regrets ............ 60 

ill 



IV 



CONTENTS. 



A Greeting . 

Two Roses 

Katharine's Tower 

After the Opera . 

One May-Day 

In the Night 

With Some Country Roses 

Letters 

The Burial . 

To a Photograph . 

In Memory of an Autumn Day 

To "La Joconde" 

A Vision .... 

Reflections .... 

Hidden Music 



PAGE 

6i 

62 

64 
66 

67 
68 
69 
70 

71 

72 
73 
75 
76 

77 
78 



PART I. 

HELENA. 

' Adeste, hendecasyllabi, quot estis." 



HELENA. 



NOW-WHITE Helena, for the noon was thirsty, 
Climbed with me to the fountain down the hill-side. 
Silly Helena tossed her head to vex me, 
Scorned the hand that I offered to assist her ; 
Soon, however, ah me to say it, slipping 
Down she fell in the mire. Eheu the pity ! 
All the dryads above us in the tree-tops, 
Laughed outright to behold her how she floundered. 
Me she scolded, poor me, and but for scolding 
Scarce would speak to me all that day, while moody 
She lay stretched in the sun adrying. Truly 
I repented her sins ! but in the evening 
As I kneeling before her scraped the clay off, 
She stooped, meeker than is her wont, and kissed me, 
Kissed me twice on the forehead in forgiveness. 



HELENA. 



II. 

Bind me, bind me a wreath of white syringa 
Fragrant-breathing ; and from their dewy covert 
Tear me violets purple, tender-laughing ; 
Also gather me roses dear to lovers, 
Early roses with pungent yellow petals ; 
Bind them all in a wreath to crown my Helen. 
There the odors will mingle with the sweetness 
Of her breath and her hair ; and there the petals 
Fading, falling about her cheeks full-ripened. 
Fading, falling, will tell how brief is beauty. 



HELENA. 



III. 

Helen sat in the hallway where the breezes 
Crowding in through the door might fan her roses ; 
There she sat with her needle darning stockings. 
Helen smiled when I came and close beside her 
Sat me down on a stool. Awhile I watched her, 
Then in sport said I also darned quite neatly. 
Straight she offered me thread and needle, bade me 
Help her mend ; and I sat there sad and awkward 
While she laughed me to scorn and called me booby. 



HELENA, 



IV. 

All the lilacs were purple 'neath the window, 
All the air was of gold when Helen bade me 
Leave my papers and help her gather flowers : 
You are taller, she said, and you can reach them. 
Gladly went I, and never sight was fairer 
Than my Helena 'mid the purple clusters. 
See, she murmured, a nest among the branches. 
Hidden there in the tangle. And I told her 
Soon the owners would come with merry music 
Learned in sunnier climes, the pair of catbirds 
Newly mated the year before who built it. 
Favored shrub ! when thy odors all forsake thee. 
What sweet melodies through thy leaves will tremble ! 



HELENA. 



V. 

Helen waded the shallow river with me ; 

In my pockets I held her shoes and stockings, 

While she tilted her gown and waded with me. 

Here she leaned on my shoulder, for the pebbles 

Bruised her sadly ; and yonder, almost falling 

From that log in the middle which the mosses 

Make so slippery, was she quite contented 

AVhile I held her ; and there where foams the current. 

Almost screamed she aloud to feel the water 

Rising over her ankles, splashing colder 

Than ice. Scarcely I knew myself for watching 

How her toes in the water gleamed like pebbles. 

Oh, were I but a fish to nibble at them ! 



HELENA. 



VI. 



Eheu ! Helena would not kiss me parting, 
Would not, though in despair I pleaded with her. 
There she stood with her hands behind her, mockin| 
All my arguments, though the milder night-wind 
Sighed, I doubt not, and sighed again to hear me : 
Stood there leaning against the door-post, smiling 
At me down on the steps ; while still I lingered. 
Hoping slily to slip my arm about her. 
Hand to hand to oppose her stubborn courage. 
Chide not, Mallon, she said, but leave me ; truly 
Next time double I '11 give you. — Now I waver 
Sadly buffeted 'twixt enjoyment hoped for 
And vexation of disappointment. Scarcely 
Know I whether to call me sad or happy» 



HELENA. Q 



VII. 

Helen's monitor tells me when my Helen 
Startled feels in her breast the leap of passion. 
For when love unexpected storms her bosom, 
Rises ever within her throat, more rounded, 
Softer, whiter than that of other virgins — ■ 
Rises ever a lump that doth bewray her. 
There one day in my zeal I kissed her, found it 
Sweeter fruit to the taste than Eden's apple. 



lO HELENA. 



VIII. 



Helen lying dissolved m vesper slumber, 

Once I found her, my Helen ; on her forearm 

Drooped her face like a lily ; from her parted 

Lips the breath of her heart came sweet as zephyr 

Blowing over the rose. Awhile uncertain 

Stood I doubting within me, till in wonder 

Bending over her, from her neck I lightly 

Raised the mesh of her hair, and stooping kissed her, 

Kissed her softly upon the throat. She quivered 

Turning slightly and murmured : Mallon, Mallon. 

I stood looking upon her till her beauty 

Filled my heart with amazement, till unconscious 

From the chamber I stole and left her sleeping. 



HELENA, II 



IX. 

One day Helen and he who loves her, sitting 
Where the shadows were cool upon the grasses, 
In their idleness gathered leaves and wove them, 
Leaves of oak and of maple, into garlands. 
Helen, kneeling above him, on his forehead 
Placed her wreath and declared him prince of poets, 
Skilled to sing of the fairest maidens. Mallon, 
Where the daintiest ringlets all unconscious 
Grew like buds in a snowdrift, set his garland. 
Called her queen of the maids whose love inspired him. 
Ah me, there in the shade they fell to kissing — ■ 
Now the poet must sing of joys remembered. 



^^ HELENA, 



X. 



Let the world, O my sweeting, scold for envy ; 
While we love and are happy need we hear it ? 
O my sweeting, to-night I prithee love me, 
Kiss me, kiss me again : behold the shadows 
Silent creeping recall that night of shadows 
Which no dawn will disperse. Ah, who will tell us 
Whether loving I then will know you love me ? 
Kiss me, kiss me again ; and on the morrow 
All the gods I will pray that they may give you 
Days in number as many as your kisses. 



HELENA, 13 



XI. 

Eheu Helen, you dare to ask me pouting 

Why so long I have shunned my dearest Helen. 

Me you chide, on our night who came and waited, 

Waited only to hear your maid, the ogress, 

Smile and sa)^ : She is not at home, your Helen. 

Falsest ogress ! beneath the curtain peeping 

There I saw you with him I thought you hated. 

All that night as I wandered through the city, 

Here and there with the shadows, sad and anxious. 

Mocked the stars from the sky and laughed, Behold him ! 



14 HELENA, 



XII. 

Autumn, fairest of all the seasons, autumn 
Is come. Blue is the air, a fainter cloud-land, 
Scented too with the smoke of burning corn-stalks : 
On the hill-side the gathered leaves and herbage 
Blazing cover the sky with fragrant incense. 
Oh, the woods and the streams and meadows ! truly 
Autumn rules with a golden rod. Now zephyr 
Puffing over the hills, in slow succession 
Stirs one tree then another, till the forest 
Trembles all to the joy of perfect autumn. 



HELENA. 15 



XIII. 

Low on Helena's neck toward the shoulder, 

Lurks the daintiest mole among the lilies ; 

Feeding there on the sweetest roots, no wonder 

Softer, sleeker he is than other creatures. 

When I watch him the lilies turn to roses. 

Till he timid is hidden by their color ; 

Never once have I touched him. Foolish Helen, 

I say, only a scar it is that lingers 

Where one day when you met me. Amor shot you ; 

Doubtless aimed at the heart but shot above it. 

Eheu ! never the arrow, howe'er pointed. 

Could have pierced to your heart within its fortress. 



1 6 HELENA. 



XIV. 



Helen asked me in mischief why I loved her ; 
Naught I answered but pointed to her mirror ; 
Helen pouted and said 't was ill to tease her ; 
Yet a week has elapsed since Helen scolded. 



HELENA. 17 



XV. 

Yonder hollow o'ershadowed by that linden 

Hold I sacred to Amor ; see his emblem 

Carven deep in the bark : To Love Triiwiphant. 

There one matin when scarce the dews were melted, 

I found Helena like a lily languid 

In its emerald bed, and crept beside her, 

Laid my head in her lap, and bade her read me 

What sweet legend had won her lips to smiling. 

So outstretched in the grass I lay and listened. 

While her hand on my forehead lightly rested. 

Left it only to turn the page or wander 

Idly over my features ; while her breathing 

With its regular swell and cadence lulled me, 

Till I dreamily wondered as I listened 

How and where in her bosom lodged such music. 



HELENA. 



XVI. 



Tears are dropping from all the trees and house-tops ; 
Through the branches the wind goes sighing, sighing, 
Heu, heu, Helena ! — People say 't is raining. 



HELENA. 19 



XVII. 



Helen threw me a kiss, and lo ! around me 
All the air was suffused with balmy odor ; 
Nay I doubt not if night had been that moment, 
Thrilled with joy it had trembled into daylight. 



20 HELENA. 



XVIIL 



Helen standing before the open window, 

Half concealed by the woodbine round it climbing, 

Smiled in mockery on me there below her. 

Come down, Helen, I cried ; come down and kiss me ; 

All the night I have waited for the morning. 

But she laughed in her merry way to tease me. 

Only tossed me a rosebud from her girdle. 

Come down, Helen, I cried ; come down and kiss me ; 

Sweeter sure is your mouth than any flower. 

Just a moment she leaned from out the window. 

Laughed, and murmuring said between her laughter : 

Come up, Mallon, I prithee come and woo me ; 

Many kisses have new-blown in the night hours. 

Just a moment she leaned far out the casement 

O'er me there in the garden, then she vanished. 

So I turned to the door and rang and waited, 

Rang and waited in vain, for no one answered 

Save the sound of the distant bell faint-jangling. 

pheu ! only a rose I kissed that morning. 



HELENA. 21 



XIX. 

All the world is aware and on the corners 
Gossips, Helena now has young Narcissus. 
Dismal Rumor who flying in the night-time 
With her myriad eyes beholdeth all things, 
Found me too unaware and poured her poison 
Through my ears to the brain ; and now I wander 
All undone through the city, heeding nothing. 
Ah, what god will restore me ? lest the maidens 
Point me out on the streets and titter saying, 
See him, Helen he thought was true, poor Mallon. 



22 HELENA. 



XX. 



Sweet my Helena, fairer than a flov/er 

Gleaming white with the dew of early morning ; 

Fair my Helena, now when all the meadows, 

So long parched by the suns of torrid August, 

Laugh together, and all the trees are happy, 

Green once more from the showers as in April ; 

Behold, Helena, scarcely know I whether 

The fresh beauty of autumn stirs my bosom, 

Or the love of a maiden, lately sleeping, 

Wakes and moves in my heart with power redoubled. 

So, my cosset, I come in doubt to see you : 

Guard the door lest another coming sooner 

Thrust me out in the night ; for thus together. 

We two, Helena, haply you may tell me 

Whether nature has charmed me or a maiden. 



HELENA, 23 



XXI. 

Helen, lying among the coreopses, 
Hid so long I had almost ceased to hunt her ; 
When a ripple of laughter told her covert. 
Forsooth ! there I beheld her laughing at me, 
Her face peering above the yellow flowers 
Like the spirit of autumn 'mid her people, 
Her eyes merry with mischief, while a dimple 
Flitted roguish about her mouth. Oh, stupid ! 
Swift I ran to her side, and frowning sternly 
Chid her froward ; and when she rudely tittered. 
Printed deep in her throat the marks of anger. 
Pressed them deep with my teeth to end her laughter. 



24 



HELENA. 



XXII. 



On a knoll in the park the firs and pine trees 
Form a circle where in the shady centre 
Spring the grasses molested by no footstep. 
There I lay with my Helen, while the autumn 
Breathing softly as summer all about us, 
Set the herbs and the scattered leaves a-dancing„ 
From the spruce and the fir tree sweetest odors 
Dropt upon us, while overhead the white clouds 
Drifted slowly like sheep upon the meadows. 
Seeking nothing I pulled aside the grasses ; 
And there sheltered beneath the tangled herbage 
Fairest violets, blue as eyes of maidens, 
Smiled to greet me. That day I still remember, 
Kind was Helena, kind and fair was nature. 



HELENA, 25 



XXIII. 

Snow-white Helena, you will read my poems, 
Half reclined in the lap of young Narcissus, 
While he points to the lines, your right arm hanging 
Ah me ! loosely around his neck, your bosom 
On his shoulder anear his cheek. O careless 
Heart ! what pang will discolor then your roses, 
When you read of the hours our love made happy, 
Of the quarrels we ended. Oh how sweetly ! 
Haply then in his arms you '11 pity Mallon. 



26 HELENA, 



XXIV. 

Sweeter odor nor field nor forest offers 

Than the scent of the osage orange ripening 

In October. Forsooth the air is nectar, 

And we twain the immortals on Olympus 

Tingling all with the draft ; yet now within me 

Rarer odors are wafted. You remember 

How one day in the spring-time careless rambling 

Stood we here by this hedge, and listening wondered 

How such music was made in every tree-top ; 

For the thrush and the catbird love these hedges. 

Surely now you remember, when you asked me 

Why the birds in the spring-time chaunt so gayly, 

Straight I kissed you upon the mouth, and whispered 

Silly Helena, tell me first within you 

What sweet melody now is welling upward. 



HELENA, 27 

XXV. 

Ah, Narcissus, a sweeter joy you give me, 

Robbing me of delight I deemed the sweetest ; 

For you fill me with pity when I see you 

Quite enthralled by the bliss I counted dearest, — - 

Pity sweeter than pleasure. Oh, you simple ! 

Sleeping now in her tender arms you dream not 

Of the waking, alas ! too certain. Truly 

I too drank of her poppy, I too sleeping 

Dreamed the joy of the world was in her bosom ; 

Yet what waking has found me ! Fair and fragrant 

Like a flower she is, that in the sunshine 

Spreads her petals alluring bees to woo her : 

One by one they alight and suck her honey, 

One by one they are gone, and still she blossoms ; 

Yet the winter will come, when brown and withered 

On the earth she will fall and lie unnoticed. 

Snow-white Helena, hear me while the time is ; 

Lest the winter come on you unexpected ; 

Lest men pass you in scorn ; and through the long night, 

All unmoved on its hinges, dark and silent, 

Hang your door that is wont to creak so often ; 

For no mortal will turn it seeking Helen, 

Helen sitting alone and old and ugly. 



PART II. 
OCCASIONAL POEMS. 

" Amor, che nella mente mi ragiona." 



TO THE GOOD SHIP "LA CHAMPAGNE" 

(Which sailed from Havre, December 15, 1888). 

I. 

I SAW the vessel leave her port 
* And sail into the west ; 
Now heaven behold yon gallant bark, 
For she beareth a lady blest. 

May peace attend her o'er the sea, 
And weather good and fair ; 
Nor rougher gale smite her amain 
Than the breathing of my prayer. 

I saw her sink into the waves — 
So hope, I thought, departs — 
Till only a line of smoke was left, 
Like memory in our hearts. 

Now heaven forfend that I repine 

Or hide me from the day ; 

Though yonder boat that swims the tide, 

Bear many a hope away. 

31 



32 TO THE GOOD SHIP ''LA CHAMPAGNE: 



I hear the rain fall in the night, 
Downrushing heavily ; 
And Jesu Maria help ! I say, 
How it must rain at sea. 

I hear the drops clash on the waves, 
As on an instrument ; 
And murmur of the moving ship 
With that far music blent. 

I hear the water wash her decks. 
And the rain dance on the boards ; 
And I wonder what of dream or thought 
To my lady it affords. 



TO THE GOOD SHIP ''LA CHAMPAGNES 33 



The sun is smiling upon the land, 
And smileth no doubt on the sea ; 
A thousand delights are in the air, 
And each of them I see. 

I see a gleam o'er the water sweep 
And flash the horizon round ; 
And the waves are a thousand merry feet 
That dance to a merry sound. 

And my boat and the sea are a picture fair, 
Begirt by a jewelled frame ; 
And if there were naught beyond its rim, 
My thoughts they were still the same. 

My lady is sitting there on the deck ; 
And if the jocund day 

Bring a light to her eye and a smile to her lip, 
I too will smile and be gay. 
3 



34 TO THE GOOD SHIP ''LA CHAMPAGNE." 



In my dream a storm blew out of the north 
And smote the shuddering main ; 
The wind beat on the frantic waves, 
Till I almost felt their pain. 

Dear Lord, I cried, as Thou art good, 
Pity the ships that are tost ; 
If a love like my love followeth each, 
What love were left if they 're lost. 

I awoke in my trouble then, and lo ! 

A light serene in the sky ; 

'T was only my heart that was beaten and tost 

By doubts, I know not why. 



TO THE GOOD SHIP ''LA CHAMPAGNES 35 

5. 

The belated moon is rising clear, 

And the waves leap up in delight ; 

I am glad she is come with her silver lamp, 

For now I can see the night. 

She holds her lantern above the flood, 
And a light streams over the sea ; 
And I know not whither that path may lead, 
But it pointeth away from me. 

A ship is sailing adown that road, 

And the moon is lighting her on ; 

And Oh, for the many she 's lighted before 

And will light when my boat is gone ! 

I see the dark hull glide along. 
Like a cloud alone in the day ; 
I see the shadow of her smoke 
Athwart the silver way. 

I see the sailor pace the deck, 

And hear his cry Ail is well ! 

The sound comes faint across the waves, 

And my heart responds All is well I 



36 TO THE GOOD SHIP ''LA CHAMPAGNES 



6. 



Ah, sleep, my lady, never fear, 

Be glad as thou art fair ; 

For God is awake with all his power, 

And I with all my prayer. 

Ah, sleep, my lady, never fear ; 
The moon is on the sea ; 
Her light is brooding over the waves, 
As my spirit broods o'er thee. 



TO THE GOOD SHIP ''LA CHAMPAGNE, 37 



I follow my boat afar, afar, 

I follow her day and night ; 

Now wherefor yonder fog drops down 

To steal her from my sight ? 

I see her plunge into the mist, 
And close my eyes in despair ; 
And I pray in the darkness of my soul, 
For the boat in the darkness there. 



38 TO THE GOOD SHIP ''LA CHAMPAGNES 



Now praise to God and to his powers 
That rule the wintry main ; 
Our ship is safe in port at last, 
The gallant craft Champagne I 

And my lady stands upon the deck, 
And stilleth eager joy ; 
For home is near and joys of home 
No partings can destroy. 

O Mary in heaven, so I pray. 

My Mary to thee is dear ; 

And thou wilt grant her every peace, 

And give her every cheer. 

O Mary in heaven, my spirit fails, 
Shall I not call on thee ? 
My lady on earth by a cloud of joys 
Is wrapt and hid from me. 



A DREAM. 39 



A DREAM. 

TN my sleep last night I trode the shore 
^ Of the mighty, mighty sea, 
And looked out over the throbbing waves 
Toward the land that holdeth thee. 

My dream was lonely and so I said 
I '11 count the billows all, 
How many there are between us tv/o, 
As they rise and break and fall. 

I counted a thousand and a thousand more, 
And a thousand still in sight ; 
And then I awoke or else I fear 
I had counted there all night. 



40 SLEEPLESSIVESS. 



SLEEPLESSNESS. 

T AST night again I could not sleep 
^^ For weary thought of thee ; 
It seemed I almost heard the hours 
Slip by me stealthily. 

I watched the moon move in the sky 
And settle in the west ; 
I watched the stars, and dreamed that there 
Dwelt peace and hope and rest. 

And still one thought was in my soul — • 
My God ! I 'gan to fear 
My heart was haunted and I saw 
The spirit, pale and drear. 



UNREST. 41 



UNREST. 

LAST night and yesternight before 
I slept but could not rest ; 
All day the waves sobbed on the beach, 
All night within my breast. 

Last night and yesternight before 
The same dream haunted me, 
A maiden's face so indistinct 
I strained my eyes to see. 

And if to-morrow night again 

The sobbing waves I hear, 

And if the same dream haunts my sleep, 

My heart will break, I fear. 



42 FRAGMENT OF A SUMMER IDYL. 



FRAGMENT OF A SUMMER IDYL. 



ERE in my lady's heart I '11 build me straight 
A tiny lodge, where soon and late 
I '11 come for quiet when the myriad folk 

And chatter of the world provoke 
A weariness of mind. I '11 build it here 

Beside this merry brook to cheer 
Me with its prattle as it bubbles by. 

Here in the bending grass I '11 lie 
And watch the minnows darting in and out 

Among the stones ; while round about 
The idle shadows drift now here, now there, 

So idle and so free of care. 
The leisure of the years steals in the breast 

And fills it with untroubled rest. 



FRAGMENT OF A SUMMER IDYL. 43 



Here in my lady's heart I '11 build me straight 

A tiny lodge, where soon and late 
I '11 hide me for a season of repose. 

Upon its walls the hardy rose 
And honeysuckle and some creeping vine 

Shall clamber at their will, and twine 
And droop around the windows. Ah ! the hours 

I '11 sit as happy as the flowers, 
And idle as the shadows that I '11 see, 

And quiet as the quiet tree 
That rises near the door, forever still, 

Unmoved as an eternal hill. — 
Yes, in my lady's heart I '11 build me straight 

A tiny lodge ; and o'er the gate 
I '11 set this legend : " Never pain or care 

Or teasing thought or wan despair 
Or worldly hope shall enter through this door, 

Where quiet dwells forevermore." 



44 FRAGMENT OF A SUMMER IDYL, 



n. 

The drowsy piping of the robin tells 

The well-known hour. Right soon the bells 
Will fling their slow reverberations out 

Across the misty air. No doubt 
The robin hath, but each new day will bring 

Old joys with never weary thing ; 
And so each morning, ere the sleepy sun 

Hath tinged the east, I hear first one 
And then another take the merry lay 

And sound his summons to the day. 
The same sweet notes I hear each matin o'er, 

And say the bells will soon strike four : 
And so for near an hour the same notes keep 

Me half awake, and then I sleep. 



FRAGMENT OF A SUMMER IDYL. 45 



Sweet are the pipe and bell ; how oft they seem 

The merest music of a dream, 
That hovers o'er my bed and glides away, 

Forever lost i' the glare of day. 
And ever in the midst I see thy form, 

As veiled around, yet soft and vv^arm, 
Go floating by ; and all the idle dreams 

Are made more lovely, as the beams 
Of Cythna, glimmering through their misty shroud, 

Lend a pale splendor to the cloud. 



46 FRAGMENT OF A SUMMER IDYL, 



III. 

The spirit of the night must sure have known 

We were upon the lake alone. 
He laid his wand upon the winds and blew 

The clouds away ; he bade the dew 
Not fall, and laid a spell upon the trees 

To chaunt their sweetest in the breeze. 
Our boat glode like a shadow on the lake ; 

And ever the slow oars did make 
A kind of music cadenced as they dipt 

And hushed, then gurgling rose and dript. 
And still before us on the ripples paced 

The wanton moon, and still we chased 
It o'er the water. When we slackened, so 

It stood and eyed us like a doe ; 
Then stole we forward, but it leaped away 

To lure us farther with its play. 



FRAGMENT OF A SUMMER IDYL. 47 



At last I wearied of its mockeries ; 

And moored our boat beneath the trees, 
Where the knit shadows fell so long and blind, 

Seek as it might it should not find 
Us for a while. And here, I said, our boat 

Can lie as silent and remote 
As any bark within a dream. Ah me ! 

The very night is fair to see. 
The very stars above can fill the breast 

With beauty till it feel opprest ; 
Yet is it wonderful to me how one 

Sweet simple maiden can have done 
So mighty havoc in my heart, and brought 

So mighty capture to my thought ! 
It may have been an hour — I only know 

At last we left our nook to go 
Across the open lake, and down the stream 

So hemmed by trees that never beam 



48 FRAGMENT OF A SUMMER IDYL. 



Of moon or star dropt in to guide our way. 

And ever as our pathway lay 
Around some sudden bend, the narrow track 

Seemed swallowed in the tangled black 
Obscurities. I know not how you steered ; 

I know not if the shadows weird 
Filled you with awe : I only held the oars, 

The while we moved as if some force, 
I know not what, impelled us on : and still 

You uttered not a word, until 
I ceased to think and moved on in a dream. 

And when at last a sudden gleam 
Showed that our row was ended ; still the spell 

Was on me, and I scarce could tell 
If joy or sorrow held me, scarce could say 

My farewell as I turned away. 



FRAGMENT OF A SUMMER IDYL. 49 



IV. 

Sweet lady, take these flowers I bring to-day, 

And read there what I would not say. 
Earth's arguments I call them which declare 

That truth and faith are not so rare, 
And blossoms born of virtues lovelier still 

Unceasingly our hearts may fill. 
Thus winter on the world may come and go, 

Thus spring within us too may blow. 
Earth beareth in her breast a fair ideal. 

Which in the prime God maketh real ; 
And we beholding whisper to our heart, 

Let not thy own ideal depart. 
What though a bitterness our present foil, 

Are we not worthier than the soil ? 
So take the flowers I bring, and they will say 

What I denied the other day. 
4 



50 FRAGMENT OF A SUMMER IDYL, 



V. 

I stood one day beside a little pool, 

And watched the shadows, soft and cool, 
Fall like a picture on its tranquil face. 

No ripple marred its quiet grace ; 
I saw the mirrored beauty of the tree, 

And still beneath could plainly see 
The limpid water and the bed whereon 

The sands like many jewels shone. — 
A friend passed by and in his idle mood 

Threw in a random stone. The rude 
Concussion shook the pool and marred its grace ; 

Rough wrinkles swept across its face ; 
The jeweled bottom rose like common soil 

To stain its purity and spoil 
My crystal dream. And so I left it then 

To settle till I came again. 



FRAGMENT OF A SUMMER IDYL, 5 1 



VI. 

I found one afternoon a pure white flower, 

A microphylla rose, that shower 
And balmy weather had allured to part 

The outer petals round its heart, 
And bare its snowy bosom to the sun. 

And so it was I plucked this one 
White rose, and carried it a mile or more 

To give my lady fair ; and swore 
All this I did for her dear sake, to show 

How like this flower she seemed to blow, 
Unfolding all her beauty to my love. 



52 FRAGMENT OF A SUMMER IDYL, 



And then I placed it just above 
Her own white bosom, looking at her still 

While looking at the rose ; until 
The witchery of her mouth o'ercame my eyes, 

And coming near to steal that prize 
I lost them both from sight. Alas, a child 

Cannot be more untamed and wild 
Than I, a man ! For shame, she cried, the flower 

You gave has fallen in a shower 
Of broken petals — see them, foolish man ! 

She frowned, and stooping down began 
To pick them one by one. And then, with still 

A frown, she said. Some day you will 
Remember how I gave you these with this : 

And with the leaves she gave a kiss. 



THE HAUNTED TOWER. 53 



THE HAUNTED TOWER. 

MONARCH on his marble throne, 
Aweary of the court's turmoil, 
Called for the sweetest singer known 
To soothe him after irksome toil. 

She stood before the haughty throng, 
A goddess formed in purest art, 

Herself more lovely than the song 
That bore her frasrrance to his heart. 

Musician fair, the monarch cried. 
Thou shalt be queen of all our land, 

Our sweetest singer, dearest bride, 
A pearl to deck our regal hand. 



54 THE HAUNTED TOWER, 



I sing for love of song, she said, 
And scorn thy pomp and royalty ; 

Thy marble heart is cold and dead 
As is the white throne under thee. 

The monarch started in his ire, 
And cast his sceptre on the floor : 

" And thou shalt sing to thy desire, 
And thou shalt sing forevermore ! " 

Deep in a sombre wood apart 

He reared a stately Norman tower, 

A tomb built like a marble heart — 
" My haughty lady's singing bower." 

And there he locked my lady proud. 
Within her palace and her grave ; 

Where never cry, or low or loud. 
Might summon gentle heart to save. 



THE HAUNTED TOWER. 55 



My lady wanders in her home 
From silent stair to desert hall ; 

She singeth still, and from the dome 
The notes return, sweet spirits all. 

Peace to my lady, tender dreams 

To her who sleepeth on the stones — 

A broken flower whose odor seems 
To linger near in murmurous tones. 

And often in a lonely hour 

The aged monarch steals from sight, 
And whispers to the moaning tower, 

" My lady's spirit sings to-night." 

And from the crumbled battlement, 
And through the ivy-mantled door, 

Thou yet raayst hear her sad lament — 
My lady sings forevermore. 



56 AN ORIOLE'S NEST. 



AN ORIOLE'S NEST. 

N oriole's nest in the leafless boughs, 
Swayed by the wintry storm — 
And I only think of the bird that is flown, 
And the clime that is blooming and warm. 

And the winter will go, and the spring will come, 
And the leaves will bud and unfold ; 
But the bird perchance may never return, 
That was frightened away by the cold. 



LIMPID POOL. 57 



O LIMPID POOL. 

LIMPID pool so clear ! 
Deep in thy silent dream, 
The beauties rare of earth and air 
■ Like faery visions gleam. 

And would that in my soul, 
Such worlds of wonderment 
Might mirrored be, and give to me 
Thy dream of pure content. 



MADRIGAL. 



MADRIGAL. 

LOVE, the sun mounts up 
Behind the eastern hills, 
And from his golden cup 
Like red wine pours the day across the night. 
O joy ! and O delight ! 
And all the feathered quire, 
Drunk with the gladness, fills 
The world with music breathing sweet desire. 

Love, the sun mounts up 
Behind the eastern hills ; 
And from his golden cup, 

1 drink the wine that fills 

My heart with madness like an eager fire. 

Open the window. Love, 

Behold I climb above, 

And in thy white arms smother this desire. 



SONG. 59 



SONG. 

F I were where my heart isj 
I 'd find my dreams, I know 
And find the fairest maiden, 
Whom they found long ago. 



If I were where my dreams are, 
I 'd find my heart, I wis ; 
And find the dearest maiden, 
And greet her with a kiss. 



6o REGRETS, 



REGRETS. 

A CURTAIN raised a foot or less, 
And at the window there, 
A woman's face of gentleness, 
And an infant's round and fair. 

A mother with her child, I say, 
And that is all to thee ; 
Yet as the car rolls on its way^ 
My heart sinks heavily. 



A GREETING, 6 1 



A GREETING. 

I KISS the breeze as it hurries by, 
And whisper soft a warning : — 
My Love sleeps on though the sun is high, 
Take her that for a fond good-morning. 

You may wanton in her gown, and bare 
Her lily, lily bosom ; 
And then to appease her stoutly swear^ 
You thought it only a blossom. 



62 TWO HOSES. 



TWO ROSES. 

MET a lassie on the car, 
And she was mickle fair ; 
A white rose lay upon her breast, 
And a red rose in her hair. 

I sat not very close, I wis, 

And looked not very long ; 

And yet my heart was smitten sore, 

And my heart felt very wrong. 

My gentle maiden, so I said. 
Thy rose so white and fair 
How gladly had I given thee, 
And the red rose in thy hair. 



TJVO ROSES. 63 



The white rose, I had even said, 

Is that to me thou art ; 

And the red rose burning near thy face, 

The burning in my heart. 

I gave thee neither this nor that, 
Sweet maiden, mickle fair ! 
And I give thee neither touch nor kiss, 
Yet I long to, mickle sair ! 



64 KATHARINES TOWER. 



KATHARINE'S TOWER, 

FRANKFURT AM MAIN. 

T N the old square tower of Katharine Church, 
■^ Far aloft in the smokeless air, 
A woman dwells in her eagle home, 

With an only daughter, young and fair. 

Below them swings the brazen bell, 

Silent and grim till at the hour 
The ponderous hammer stirs and strikes, 

And the prisoned tones burst from the tower. 

A lonely life these watchers lead, 

Where even the breezes hurry by ; 
For the din of the city is swept away, 
And seldom a visitor climbs so high. 



KATHARINES TOWER. 65 



But at night when the world is all asleep, 
Save the stars above and the lamps below ; 

I wis the girl is sitting there. 

In a fairy realm we cannot know. 

A lonely life ! yet it seems to me 

My heart could rest in quiet there, 
With the world and its people far below — 

In the lonely tower with its warden fair. 

And still in the night when the streets are hushed, 
And the solemn bell tolls out the hour, 

My thoughts mount up the mouldering stairs 
To the wonderful maiden there in the tower. 

And wherever I go for many a month, 

The sound of that bell will haunt my heart ; 

And the dream of a life in that starry home 
With the wonderful maiden will never depart. 
5 



66 AFTER THE OPERA. 



AFTER THE OPERA. 

I SAW the flower upon thy breast, 

^ And spoke not of 't, I know not why ; 

So may my love as lightly rest 

Upon thy heart and sweetly die. 

The edelweiss is fair I know, 
Yet doubly fair were 't worn for me ; 
The edelweiss blooms in the snow. 
Ah may thy bosom kinder be. 



ONE MA Y-DA V. 6^ 



ONE MAY-DAY. 

ONE May-day as I walked abroad, 
I marveled at the works of God ; 
For all were full of flattery, 
And every flower did smile at me. 

I laughed in answer. Ah I know 
Why all you blossoms flatter so ; 
It only means, pluck me, pluck me, 
And carry us your love to see. 

untaught children ! if I knew 
My love who is so fair were true, 

1 'd pluck you all — all I could bear. 
And bind a wreath for her sweet hair. 

And then a sadness clouded me. 
While still they smiled in flattery ; 
And then I knew the world so broad 
Smiled not for me but for its God. 



6S IN THE NIGHT, 



IN THE NIGHT. 

IJUSH, hush ! the clouds are still, 
■^ ■■■ And the stars utter no cry ; 
The trees are wrapped in silentness, 
And the winds forget to sigh. 



They stand in silent awe, 
For God is passing by ; 
They stand and utter no complaint. 
And I, what grief have I ? 



WITH SOME COUNTRY ROSES. 



69 



WITH SOME COUNTRY ROSES. 

TAKE these roses, lady dearest, 
Hold them to thy sweeter face ; 
There perchance when they are nearest, 
They may find a fresher grace. 

How their petals droop together, 
Hiding thus their dingy stains, 
Wrought by long inclement weather, 
And by long incessant rains. 

So the love my heart would render 
Hides itself in drooping fears ; 
For however pure and tender, 
It is marred by many tears. 



/O LETTERS. 



LETTERS. 

I BURNT the letters that you wrote, 
And watched them in the fire 
Grow black and red and white and dead, 
Upon their funeral pyre. 

I watched them glimmer on the coals, 
And saw them fall away ; 
And as they burned my sweet love turned 
To ashes cold and gray. 



THE BURIAL, yi 



THE BURIAL. 

T SLEPT last night a troubled sleep, 
^ Through all my dreams I heard the deep 
Faint tolling of a distant bell, 
That still pealed out a dismal knell. 

And in my dreams I seemed to see 
Strange folk in slow solemnity 
Move ever by, with downcast eyes 
And lips that seemed to utter sighs. 

And then I cried, What may this be ? 
Alas, quoth one weird shape to me. 
Another mortal's joy is dead, 
We go to lay it in its bed ! 



72 TO A PHOTOGRAPH, 



TO A PHOTOGRAPH. 

F^EAR Mary, sitting with your portrait there, 
^—^ I see the beauty of our fortnight rise, 
Like an enchanted mist before mine eyes 
Veiling the world about. O time so fair ! 
If but recalling of thy joy could bear 
Its hope to fill my sorrow with surprise ! 
Then not in vain I 'd link each dumb surmise, 
Or sit before a picture half in prayer. 

Yet in the sadder years that end our race, 
When all the passions of a life are told. 
This faded portrait of a girl's young face 
May turn the dull complaint of growing old 
To sweet recital of an earlier grace : 
I too was happy and have loved, — behold ! 



IN MEMOR Y OF AN A UTUMN DA V, 73 

IN MEMORY OF AN AUTUMN DAY. 

(October 16, 1886.) 

I. 

T^HERE is a time ere winter comes amain, 
■■• Like peaceful twilight's calm that holds awhile, 
When many things seem leaguers to beguile 
The hours of labor from us, with the strain 
And waste of getting ; when the winds are fain 
To cease their moil ; and, like a sleeper's smile, 
A misty veil is spread o'er sharp defile 
And rugged top to smooth each line of pain. 
I know not what the cause may be, I care 
Not to inquire : yet with each dropping leaf, 
And with each hushing of the drowsy air, 
And muffling of each sound, some worldly grief 
Is borne away, some thought we would not bear, 
And gentle dreams steal in with sweet relief. 



74 IN MEMOR V OF AN A UTUMN DA K. 



II. 

Here will I lie beneath this spreading tree 
And woo the sweetness of the day : — the stream 
Of clouds o'er yonder boughs, moves in a dream 
That through the bars of wakefulness I see ; 
The hidden brooklet murmuring stealthily, 
Bears on its bosom mingled sounds that seem 
As echoes borne from unknown lands ; the scream 
Of solitary crows that heavily 
Move o'er the trees, is but the farewell cry 
Of darker thoughts that leave me here alone ; 
The breeze that creepeth up the hill with sly 
And wayward steps, whispers in trembling tone 
Of hopes I dare not hope, of hopes so high 
They flit like visions o'er me and are gone. 



TO ''LA JOCONDEr 75 



TO " LA JOCONDE." 

I FIND in beauty something fairer dwells, 
* And all the semblances that satisfy 
Are but the trappings and the outer shells 
Of the sweet virtue that in them doth lie„ 

And they, the ornament of our brave race, 
In whom this spirit hides of loveliness, 

Sweet women, wear its mystery on their face, 
A smile unnamed that lures to look and guess. 

I wonder, knowing not if consciously 

This higher grace is theirs that I discern ; 

And wonder deepens, till I seem to see 
A type beyond me of the grace etern. 

O lady benedight, whom Vinci's skill 

Hath given thy woman's charm to haunt us stilL 



^^ A VISION, 



A VISION. 

A VISION of the watches of the night : 
The City of our God, set like a jewel 
Upon the utmost verge — O kind and cruel ! 
Bitter and sweet ! how mingled by the Might 
That made them for what end ? Behold the sight 
Of that fair City, and the stately rule 
And measure of its golden streets, the cool 
Sequestered fountains, and the river's flight. 

Behold the towering sapphire walls, and round 
A stream of music ever flowing sweet, 
A rampart strong, invisible, of sound. 
And still behold ! the hideous throng that beat 
Against its unseen bulwark, to rebound 
Like flies that swarm the window's glassy cheat. 



REFLECTIONS. // 



REFLECTIONS. 

RIGHT often as I gazed upon the sea 
And over all the billows far and wide, 
Meseemed each passing wave but rose and died, 
To murmur in the air some mystery- 
Learned in the solemn depths where such may be ; 
And once when the broad wind rose from the tide 
And with the gathered burden louder sighed, 
Meseemed I caught their utterance thus to me : — 
Live in the heart of things where warnings sleep 
That tears and laughter are not idle farce ; 
Live, not ashamed for honest pain to weep. 
Still conqueror through sorrow's many wars, 
Glad in the universal joys that keep. 
And worthy of the sunlight and the stars. 



78 HIDDEN MUSIC. 



HIDDEN MUSIC. 

AS one who carries with him through the day 
The memory of music heard before, 
While snatches of the half-forgotten score 
Start on his lips or through his fancy stray ; 
I wander v/ith the burden of my lay, 
Singing at intervals, though hearing more, 
The music flowing from such hidden store, 
And song that ere I fashion dies away. 

Thus too the toil of men, their idle word, 
And the unremitting murmur of the street ; 
Or melody of leaf-embowered bird, 
And rustle of the clover at our feet, 
Recall the perfect strains I somewhere heard. 
Whose theme in part my broken songs repeat. 



i? ".y ■■•■,■ _ji jsis^- 



'.M 



